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More Corporations Join Military Spouse Employment Partnership

By Amaani LyleAmerican Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Nov. 5, 2013 - In a show of commitment and support to those who serve alongside uniformed service members, 60 new corporations joined the Military Spouse Employment Partnership in an induction ceremony here today.

With a prolific career in both government and the private sector, Frank Vollrath, assistant secretary of defense for readiness and force management, praised MSEP's global success rate.

"The family, and the spouse in particular, are critical to the readiness of your force," Vollrath said. "In my experience in corporate America, we never hired an employee out of the goodness of our heart. We always hired because it would make a difference in our corporation and the support of our customers."

He described the 60 new signatory corporate partners and scores of enduring corporate partners as "patriots" who made a similar business decision to commit to an employee who may face multiple relocations across his or her career.

"You have bought into the idea that there is a certain benefit to turnover in your corporation," Vollrath said. "You have bought into the idea that once you have a good employee, you will hang on to that employee regardless of where he or she happens to have to move because of their spouse's military service."

Betty Welsh, wife of Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, said "the game has changed" in recent years in terms of credentialing, training and promotion opportunities for spouses.

"Thanks to MSEP's efforts, these companies now understand and are hiring from the most savvy, caring, dependable, well-educated group of people you can -- a military spouse," she said.

Today, she added, spouses across services and generations benefit from the partnerships with companies large and small.

"Behind every great airman, soldier, sailor, Marine and Coast Guardsman is a spouse and a family that serves too, and they bring value to our workplace and to our nation," Welsh said.